The laser-produced plasma as an x-ray source provides significant advantages over other types of sources for x-ray microscopy of, particularly, living biological specimens. The pulsed nature of the x-rays enables imaging of the specimen in a living state, and the small source size minimizes penumbral blurring, thus making it possible to make an exposure close to the source, thereby, increasing the x-ray flux. Silica depositions, in the form of SiO2•H20, in the leaf blade of corn have been imaged using a laser-produced plasma source. The study of these silica deposits in various developmental stages reveals that silica is initially deposited in specialized dumb-bell shaped silica cells and further deposition occurs in the bullaform cells and hairs. Such studies have not been possible with conventional methods which require ashing and staining of the specimens. Furthermore, x-ray imaging enables the screening of the silica content in a large number of specimens, which is a requirement for breeding programs.